TORONTO – Innovation is reaching new heights with Toronto Rail Yards, a new mixed-use community that is slated to be built above an active rail corridor between Bathurst Street and Spadina Avenue.
The massive 14-acre development is a LiUNA Pension Fund of Central and Eastern Canada project, built in partnership with Fengate Asset Management.
Once complete, it will deliver nearly 4,000 new homes, more than two acres of urban park space, 85,000 square metres of office space, two child-care centres and approximately 4,700 square metres of retail space, states a release.
It will begin with a six-acre deck that is extended over the rail yard to maximize the public realm while connecting to GO Transit and the city’s broader transit network.
International design firm Henning Larsen, alongside Toronto-based firms including Hines, PCL, WW+P Architects and RJC Engineers, are teaming up on the project.
In all, the development will be delivered in phases to minimize construction impacts. Site preparation is anticipated to begin in 2028, with construction on the deck to begin later in the year.
The project reclaims underused air rights above the rail infrastructure and “represents a bold new chapter in transit-oriented city-building for Toronto,” the release notes.
“Great cities are built with ambition, and with a responsibility to leave something meaningful behind,” said Joseph Mancinelli, chair of LPFCEC, LiUNA international vice president and regional manager for Central and Eastern Canada, in statement.
“Toronto Rail Yards will create homes people need, jobs that sustain families, and a legacy for the city. The deck alone is expected to create more than 4,600 construction jobs and generate more than nine million union construction hours, making this not only a transformative investment in Toronto’s future, but a testament to what union labour can build for generations to come.”
The project will include a mix of housing types and sizes, including family-sized units, integrated with amenities for residents and the broader community.
“The design of Toronto Rail Yards is rooted in the neighbourhood — creating a new urban environment for daily community life, shaped around how people will arrive, gather and feel connected to the city and to one another,” added Michael Sørensen, global market director, Henning Larsen. “The scale, materiality and microclimate of its welcoming spaces will make Toronto Rail Yards a place with a genuine sense of belonging at its core.”
